Apps and APIs -- how enterprise software development needs to change

The popularity
of mobile apps is changing user expectations of software in the home and workplace. How should
IT managers respond when considering their software development plans?

According to a study by CSC, apps are “changing the future of how enterprises interact with
customers”. The Apps
rEvolutionreport
predicted a shift towards apps for businesses, as individuals are becoming more accustomed to a
personalised experience when interacting with applications and companies.

Dan Hushon, chief technology officer at CSC, said that as people get used to a customised
experience, they are beginning to expect applications to provide support specific to them in all
aspects of life, including the workplace.

He said this is “allowing a new apps economy to be built to target specific kinds of people”
aiming to provide individuals with the information they need for their lives and jobs.

The CSC report suggested the rise in mobile apps presents a new concept for IT managers to
consider - bring your own app (BYOA). For example, there are over 1500 calendar apps in the Apple
App Store. Each of those apps will have its own features, which will appeal to different people.
Individuals want to choose the app that suits them and their needs best, and they don’t want to
have to use a different service at work to the one they use at home.

Businesses are already struggling to cope with bring your own
device (BYOD) strategies causing issues with security and standards, and a BYOA
strategy may be just as difficult to implement. The CSC report said that to deal with the
shift, industries will have to focus in particular on “instrumentation, standards, business
processes and innovative products” – exactly the issues that businesses are struggling with when it
comes to BYOD.

Guillaume Balas, chief marketing officer of web development firm 3Scale, has an answer. He told
delegates at Apps World Europe 2013 how advanced application
programming interfaces (APIs) are shaping the web and businesses.

“Software is the lifeblood of new businesses, it’s the way to automate, optimise, streamline
processes, transactions - it’s everywhere,” he said.

“And every company, even though it’s not a software company, has to have a software strategy.
However, to harness the whole potential of this software, you need to have access to different
features and functionalities of the software in order to get the most out of it and be able to
connect them to other companies, to other software, to other hardware. So there comes APIs.”

Hushon said the shift to BYOA will be eased with the development
of enterprise mobile platforms. Because so many providers of enterprise apps are now developing
APIs, the apps on offer are likely to be more easily integrated, with the ability to work on many
different devices and interact cross-platform.

Kevin Flowers, CTO for Coca Cola Enterprises, also spoke at Apps World Europe 2013 about the
importance of API strategy: “We set an objective of 25 APIs. The reason we did that is not because
if you build it they will come, but if you build it you know how to build it. And so we knew if we
went ahead and went that full cycle of building APIs, we would know how to do it, we’d be ready for
the marketplace.”

Firms are not only changing how apps are made so they can use them in business, but also the way
apps are developed for customer interaction. The CSC report highlighted the first signs of the
shift to user-centred application use and the increased use of user experience-focused app design.
This is due not only to the increased importance of apps catering to people’s needs, but also to
individuals creating DIY user-centred apps that may not follow traditional development methods.

Despite the difficulties of implementing a BYOA strategy, the benefit of this move is
invaluable, said Hushon. With greater use of APIs, creating user-focused apps appropriate to
business, the workforce will be improved.

“It will generate a brand new economic benefit because we will have a set of people who will
have more information, and make better and wiser decisions.”

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